My 23rd Birthday

On Tuesday March 24th I turned 23 years old. My special day started at approximately 11:50am when I entered my room to find several of my closes friends screaming to the top of their lings shouting happy birthday!!! The amazing Jenny Garcia was holding a birthday cakes covered with chocolate and Oreos (my fav) and my best friend Evelyn was holding her camera and catching the entire thing on film. My room was decorated with balloons and streamers. It was great! The night was filled with tons of laughs as we played Pin the Tail on the Donkey and talked about the random events still yet to come.

After working on the newspaper project for most of the morning, I decided to treat myself to a haircut. I went to White Plains for a day of pampering. I then picked Jenny up from work and got my second surprise for the day, the Tiffany’s ring I had been eyeing for a few months now. I could not believe it! I was so surprised I stared to cry in the Westchester Mall. LOL

When I finally got back to campus, I was told to get ready. Naturally, I was confused because I had no idea what to get ready for. To my surprise, Jenny made reservations at P.F. Chang’s, which I had never been to. She also managed to get some of my closes friends to join, including my best friend Mo and her girlfriend who live in New York City. I was so surprised I couldn’t speak. Needless to say, I ended up having one of the best birthdays ever and I feel so lucky to have spent it with the people I love. ♥

In the Valley of Elah

After a long weekend of walks in the park and Spring cleaning, I decided to relax and watch a movie, rented by netflix of course!

The movie of choice was In the Valley of Elah, written and directed by Paul Haggins.  

The plot tells the story a man, Hank Derrfield, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who is on the search for his missing son who serves in the army and has just returned from Iraq.  After notice that his son Mike, played by Jonathan Tucker, has been the victim of a brutal murder, he is determined to find out who could have committed such a crime.  He uses past training and army experience to do what the police are failing to do.

Although the film is filled with a star-studded cast such as Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, James Franco, and of course Tommy Lee Jones, it lacked the intense action it claimed to posses, and thus expecting.  

The movie is based on actual events, and explores various themes such as the war in Iraq and abuse of prisoners, which leaves the audience questioning the army's ethics.  However, after 2 hours and 7 minutes, I was not happy with the final result.   

The filmed was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007, as well as Tommy Lee Jones for best actor.  For those who enjoy a real thinker without the action, this may just be the movie for you.  Overall, I give it three out of five stars.